North West heat may break records

Northern WA is bracing for more extreme temperatures up to 50C as a heatwave drags into the Australia Day long weekend.

The mercury officially reached a sizzling 49C in Marble Bar at 3.30pm today - just a shade below the hottest temperature ever recorded in WA.

At Yarrie Station, about an hour’s drive further north, an unofficial reading of 50C was recorded by pastoralist Annabelle Coppin just after 2pm.

Thermometer at Yarrie Station peaked at 50C this afternoon. Picture: Annabelle Coppin

“But that’s in the shade and on the grass,” Ms Coppin said. “Out in the sun it would be hotter.

“It’s windy as well, which is not nice, but at least the windmills are turning.”

Ms Coppin said she was hoping to knock off early today and head down to the river for a beer and a swim.

As if locals needed reminding, the official temperature gauge confirmed it was a stinker. Picture: 7 News

But first she needed to check some of the cattle station’s 65 water points, consisting of windmills and solar pumps.

“We can’t check them all because it’s a 900km roundtrip but we will do what we can,” Ms Coppin said.

“It will be checks and double checks today because the cattle will be putting more pressure on the watering points.”

Ms Coppin said the station registered 49C in December but she could not recall the temperature reaching the half century in her time.

Kids headed to the pool as temperatures soared in Marble Bar. Picture: Simon Hydzik/ 7 News

She said a lack of rain during the Pilbara’s traditional wet season so far meant some “hard decisions” would soon need to be made about mustering.

“We just want some rain,” she said. “We usually start (mustering) in May, but may start earlier if we don’t have any rain.”

Pastoralist Annabelle Coppin said it was already 44C at 9am at Yarrie Station. Picture: Nic Ellis/The West Australian

The extreme heat has prompted the Bureau of Meteorology to upgraded the fire danger rating from Very High to Severe for parts of the Pilbara.

The State's highest recorded temperature was in Mardie in February 1992 when the mercury climbed to 50.5C.

BOM forecaster Mark Paull said a large, slow-moving mass of hot air sits over northern WA.

“It’s summer, and we have pretty good easterly winds pushing pushing off through the Pilbara and the Gascoyne area, so that’s what’s causing those high temperatures. Those winds are holding off the sea breezes,” he said.

Much of the Pilbara, Gascoyne and Interior districts are expecting maximum temperatures of at least 45C.

The severe heat is expected to spread east into the NT over the weekend.

These temperatures make Perth's predicted maximum of 31C seem positively chilly.

WA’s hottest recorded temperatures was 50.5C at Mardie on February 19, 1998.

The Australian temperature record is 50.7C, recorded at Oodnadatta in outback South Australia on January 2, 1960.